Vietnamese official shot bosses dead over bitterness at work: police

• In about-face, Vietnam province to launch criminal probe into fatal shooting of 2 local leaders
• Vietnam official guns down 2 provincial leaders before shooting himself

Police on Monday reaffirmed that the fatal shootings of two provincial leaders in northern Vietnam in August were related to a job assignment disagreement and "bitterness."

They also confirmed again that the main suspect had also killed himself. This means the case is now effectively closed.

The conclusions came after months of investigation, which did not find any suspect other than Do Cuong Minh, then director of the Forest Protection Agency of Yen Bai Province.

Do Cuong Minh in a file photo

Police on Monday said Minh had fissures with how his department and the province’s forestry department handled a reshuffle and personnel arrangement.

They said that was the reason why he killed Pham Duy Cuong, the chief of the provincial Communist Party Unit, and Ngo Ngoc Tuan, chairman of the legislative body People’s Council and also tasked with personnel matters in the province.

The unprecedented attack on the morning of August 18 shocked the whole country and raised a lot of questions. Police said all other motives such as jealousy or political conflicts had all been ruled out, adding that there was no sign of a burglary either.

Investigators believed that Minh shot the officials in their offices with a K59 pistol before shooting himself in the head. Minh, as a forest protection officer, was allowed to carry a gun.

At the time the victims were to attend a regular council meeting, which Minh was not invited to.

All three were rushed to hospital in critical conditions. They succumbed to injuries in the afternoon.

Minh, 53, had been heading the Forest Protection Agency since 2014. He is remembered by many as a well-mannered and responsible man.

Vietnam reported 1.51 intentional homicides per 100,000 people in 2011, up from 1.25 in 2008, the New York Times reported last August, using a World Bank database that cites figures from the United Nations.

But that was still below the average of two per 100,000 people reported across the Asia-Pacific region in 2012, the closest year for which data was available, the Times said.

Related news:

> In about-face, Vietnam province to launch criminal probe into fatal shooting of 2 local leaders

> Vietnam official guns down 2 provincial leaders before shooting himself